1 week ago
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A five-year-old kindergarten student at ALP School, Chelembra, in the district was reportedly not allowed to board the school bus for delay in payment of bus fee. The school headmistress reportedly ordered the driver to keep the child off the bus. The little boy was left stranded on the road, facing shame and hurt.
Traumatised, the child stayed away from school for two days. The child’s mother lodged complaints with the Education Minister, State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, and the police, alleging inhuman treatment by the school authorities.
The mother said she would pursue legal action against the school authorities. She has decided not to send the child back to the school again.
The alleged incident occurred on Monday as the child attempted to board the bus to school. The driver refused him entry while allowing the other children on. The driver said the headmistress had instructed him to keep the child off the bus as two months’ fees were outstanding.
A woman at the bus stop brought the stranded child back to his house. “My child was whimpering from insult and hurt when he returned home,” said his mother, a former part-time teacher.
The mother brought the issue up in the school WhatsApp group and took the child to school in an autorickshaw. “The headmistress showed no remorse. Instead, she questioned why I raised the issue in the school group,” the mother said.
“I had asked my son’s class teacher for a few extra days to pay the fee, explaining that my husband was returning from abroad after cancelling his visa. The teacher said she had informed the headmistress. But the headmistress’ treatment of the child was unforgivable,” the mother said.
She paid ₹1,000 that evening, covering the two-month bus fee. While other teachers and PTA leaders apologised for the incident, the headmistress maintained her stance.
Repeated attempts to contact the headmistress for her comments were unsuccessful as she did not answer calls from The Hindu.
English (US) ·